最中
さいちゅう · saichuu · JLPT N3 · noun
in the middle of
⏳ 最中 = most + middle: the very middle of something
最 (sai) means most and 中 (chuu) means middle, so 最中 is the very middle of an action, e.g. 食事の最中 = in the middle of a meal. Read as もなか, the same characters name a wafer sweet with a filling in its middle.
最 — top 冃 (hat/cover) + bottom 取 (take)
Originally a compound suggesting taking something even at risk, with 冃 (a covering, often confused with 日 sun) over 取 (to seize). Over time it shifted from 'to risk taking' to the superlative meaning 'most' or 'extremely', its modern use in Chinese.
中 — vertical stroke 丨 through enclosure 口
Pictograph of a banner or pole piercing the center of a target or territory, depicting the idea of 'middle' or 'center'. The horizontal frame represents boundaries, and the vertical line marks the central axis. The meaning extended from spatial center to 'middle, central, China' (中国, the Middle Kingdom).
さなか · sanaka · JLPT N1 · noun
in the middle of
最 (most) + 中 (middle) = the most-middle point: the midst of something
最 means most or utmost and 中 means middle or inside, so 最中 is the most-middle point. The same spelling also names a Japanese wafer sweet, read もなか (monaka), so check the reading.
最 — top 冃 (hat/cover) + bottom 取 (take)
Originally a compound suggesting taking something even at risk, with 冃 (a covering, often confused with 日 sun) over 取 (to seize). Over time it shifted from 'to risk taking' to the superlative meaning 'most' or 'extremely', its modern use in Chinese.
中 — vertical stroke 丨 through enclosure 口
Pictograph of a banner or pole piercing the center of a target or territory, depicting the idea of 'middle' or 'center'. The horizontal frame represents boundaries, and the vertical line marks the central axis. The meaning extended from spatial center to 'middle, central, China' (中国, the Middle Kingdom).